Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Time to dust off the Peace Bean jar for summer...


From the moment that my boys 
open in their eyes in the morning,
they start clobbering each other.

In an effort to promote peace
and sanity during these  long summer days,
I made two peace jars for the boys.


If I see them acting kind to one another
or being peaceful toward me by obeying,
I just grab a red bean from my bean bowl
and drop a peace bean into their jar.

One rule is that they are
allowed to point out to me 
that they deserve a bean if I didn't notice.

This means that they often
set themselves up to get along 
and then yell to me from across the house.
I hear them say things like...
"Mom, I just didn't hit Koen back!"
or "Hey mom, I shared my toy with Griffin!"


As the beans stack up
 they can earn privileges and prizes.

Guess what?
It's totally working!
We've had a great start to our summer.

If I hear them arguing 
I just remind them about their peace jar
and they simmer down pretty quickly.

I lurve Peace Beans!!



Tuesday, May 27, 2014

The Happiness Project :: Camping

We went camping for the first time over the weekend
 and it was fun fun fun! 
We met up with my BFF and her family.
Here are some shots from our awesome trip. 
It will be the first of many.





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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

The Happiness Project :: 11 years!


This framed wedding invitation hangs in our hallway
and is always such a sweet reminder of the day we were married.

Roger had that pocket watch tucked into his pants pocket
when he stood at the alter waiting for me to walk down the aisle
and the watch just happened to stop at 6:00 pm, 
right when I stepped up and took his arm.

It hasn't worked since
and we consider it to be a good luck charm.

We celebrated our 11 years anniversary over the weekend.
It was a nice mellow celebration and I didn't take
one photo of our simple dinner or going to movies.

I wanted to be in the moment,
instead of seeing it through a camera lens.

Sometimes the best gift
you can give to someone
is being fully present.




Want to join me in my quest
to scout out happiness in our lives?
Simply post a photo of something that
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Tuesday, May 13, 2014

The Happiness Project :: New bikes!



My parents gave me the most adorable and awesome 
bike for Mother's Day!
I felt so fancy riding around on it.
If someone was working in the yard as I rode past them,
I'd ring my bell and yell
"Look at my new bike!"

I love it!


My parents took the gift a step further
and got the whole family bikes! 
We are so excited to be a biking family!!!

They even got us a trailer so we
can take the bikes camping with us.

Thanks Nana and Poppy!!!




Want to join me in my quest
to scout out happiness in our lives?
Simply post a photo of something that
makes you wildly happy and tell us all about it.
Then, steal my button and include it in your post.
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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

The Happiness Project :: Mother's Day Tea


Koen's class had a Mother's Day Tea
and it was just about the most precious thing, ever.

I live for these sappy moments,
where everything feels so sweet and fleeting.
Just look at that amazing painting he made for me.
It now hangs in a place of honor
on the fridge gallery.

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